Numerical and Experimental Study of a Real Scaled Waffle

Resumen

Nowadays, rational and sophisticated structural solutions are a demand for structural designers, as a consequence of architectural design evolution and new building management concepts. Waffle slabs become an interesting alternative, in spite of its laborious numerical modeling. Therefore, it becomes necessary to increase the knowledge about the structural behavior and improve the theoretical models used for the simulation of these slabs. The objective proposed for this work was to analyze the adequacy of a design method widely used in the modeling of waffle slabs, verifying if it represents the slab behavior satisfactorily. A real scaled waffle slab was instrumented with strain gages and deflection gages for measuring specific strain and deflection in different points submitted to a load in a localized area. The numerical analysis was made using a matricial grillage model developed by a local software house specialized in structural analysis. The experimental test showed a linear behavior, even though residual results could indicate cracking in some isolated sections. The experimental deflections presented good estimate values in comparison with the numerical ones and the experimental strains defined the presence of bending moments coincident with the forecasts of the theoretical model.